Thursday, November 12, 2009

"An ironic thing about churches like Lawndale is that because they have chosen to pour their limited resources back into the local community, many outside of that community have never heard of them." (Jim and Casper Go To Church, pg 72)

I often, about once a year, wrestle with the desire for public recognition. Growing up in the church I wanted to be a youth pastor who was passionate about youth ministry who stuck with it over the years. I hoped to be the one who broke the mold and was in the public (church) eye for that.

I find myself in a small urban neighborhood church plugging away daily in an unknown ministry. Well, I should say unknowndenominationally and nationally. Which is where most of us live. However, there are times I just want a little bit of recognition. To be noticed for the work we've put in to making our neighborhood reflect a little bit of the Kingdom.

As I read the quote listed above, it rang true for me. After attending Nazarene denominational conferences this summer and fall, I've realized those who are in the main light are there because they've placed themselves there. They are there because of a desire to network and travel. Not to negate what they are doing for the Kingdom, I realized where I am and what I'm doing is being true to my calling. My call is to have my hands dirty in the mess of the daily function of the church.

It's Ironic that the churches possibly doing the most in and for the community are the ones least known for their good works. But, as Jesus says - the kingdom is upside down.

Growing up I often heard the story of a pastor who planned for weeks to prepare his first sermon for his new congregation. He worked diligently on it. He practiced it, reworked it, and felt it was conveying everything he had hoped. And so, the day came. He spoke boldly and proclaimed the message of the Lord.

Following the service, as was typical in their church, the new pastor stood in the back and greeted the people as they left. They were all smiling, full of joy. They were very pleased with their selection of their new pastor and his ability to speak the word of God clearly. As they each passed by their pastor, they all complimented him on the well crafted sermon.

The next Sunday came, and the pastor spoke boldly, proclaiming the abundant grace of God. The people enjoyed the message, but many commented to one another how it was simply the message from the week before. Although a fantastic message they thought it was odd, yet they complimented their pastor on the way out none the same.

The pastors third Sunday with his new congregation came, and once again, he spoke boldly proclaiming God’s good news. He was passionate as he spoke and the people understood what he was saying; partly because it was the same message as the previous two Sundays. After the benediction when the pastor was standing in the back, it took a few minutes for people to come to shake his hand. They were all talking amongst themselves. They conspired and had the board chairman approach the pastor and ask what was going on since he had spoken the exact same message three Sundays in a row.

The pastor stood there, not surprised by their concern. Yet he looked at the board member, then to the rest of the congregation standing behind him and responding in love said, “Well, once you get this one and start living it, we’ll move on to the next.”

Deuteronomy is much like this story… Moses is reiterating to the people what they’ve already heard. He’s reminding them of their journey out of Egypt, and their wandering. He’s reminding them of their covenant with God. He’s reminding them of his journey up the mountain, my favorite part. It’s when he went up on the mountain and spoke to God who was in the form of a burning bush. And how, he had fasted for 40 days not eating or drinking anything. He comes down from the Mountain, and the people had built a golden calf… appalled Moses throws down the tablets, they break, and he goes back up the mountain, not eating or drinking for 40 more days. He’s like remember that! Ya, remember all this.

In some ways we can look at Deuteronomy as a conclusion. It’s the last of the 5 books we refer to as the Pentateuch and it does a fantastic job of summing up all the key things which took place in the previous books. Yet Deuteronomy isn’t a conclusion as we know it today. When we read a story or write a paper the conclusion never has a new thought or new idea. We don’t add new stuff in a conclusion but we reiterate what’s been said… which Moses has done.

Let’s look at a few of the points he gave emphasis: one place of worship, other gods, clean and unclean food, tithing, canceling debts, the Passover, the festivals, how to support the priests, and what to do when someone is murdered. The list goes on and on.We even hear Moses specifically go over some, what I think are odd things in this book. Check out chapter 22. 4 If you see someone's donkey or ox fallen on the road, do not ignore it. Help the owner get it to its feet. 5 A woman must not wear men's clothing, nor a man wear women's clothing, 8 When you build a new house, make a parapet around your roof so that you may not bring the guilt of bloodshed on your house if someone falls from the roof.” He’s just telling them to put up a railing. Again in verse 11 he reminds them not to wear clothes made of wool and linen woven together, and that they need tassels on the four corners of their cloak.

Why? You know, I always wonder about this. Why is Moses so concerned with these things? I honestly don’t know. I don’t have a good answer. Perhaps it’s because he was so wrapped up in the laws and the codes that it was all he could hear or see. Perhaps he cared so deeply for the people that he wanted to ensure the people, even after he was gone, would continued to follow God.

What’s interesting about Deuteronomy is that in all of the book, with Moses saying what not and how to do things, with his lists and redundancies, in chapter 6 he has a short paragraph which is possibly one of the most well known passages of the old (and I’d even say, the new) testaments.

We find in Chapter 6 of Deuteronomy the Shema. The Shema is a foundation for who the Jews are and how they live. It is a prayer the Jews historically recite twice a day, once as they get up and once when they lay down. Over the years and centuries, the Shema, found in Deuteronomy has shaped the thinking and actions of people worldwide.

4 Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. [a] 5 Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. 6 These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. 7 Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. 8 Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. 9 Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.

"Of all the commandments, which is the most important?" "The most important one is this: 'Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.' The second is this: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no commandment greater than these." (Mark 12)

Which is the most important commandment? Of all the commandments in the Bible, of all the commandments from God, we’re told the most important one is this one found right here in Deuteronomy chapter 6. Of all the commandments, the 10 commandments, the directions given throughout Leviticus, Numbers and all of Deuteronomy – Jesus pinpoints Chapter 6 as the most important. Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength.So here it is, Jesus tells us this is the most important thing. This right here. So, we should focus on it right? Jesus goes on to tell us the second most important commandment. And what’s second? Love your neighbor as yourself. So, what’s foundational here? What’s the theme? What runs through the veins of the most important commandments? Revenge? Equality? Redemption? It’s Love.

The greatest commandment is to Love… Love God, then love neighbor. And as we read through Deuteronomy, at first glance you don’t always see a lot of love. For example, someone stand up and read Deuteronomy 19:21. (Show no pity: life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot.)

What do we do with this verse in light of Chapter 6? Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments are to be on your hearts…

How does “Show no pity: life for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot” connect with Love?

Ya, I don’t think it does.

If the commandment to Love God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength is to be on our hearts, how do we do it? How do we implant this Love on our hearts? How do we impress it on our children as Moses tells us to do? This is a good question – you know, I’m a new dad… so I need to know. How do we impress this? How do we do it?

Think back to your childhood, how many of you can tell me a joke your parents told you over and over again as a child. How about a story they read to you? That’s what the story of the pastor I told at the beginning is. It’s one of those jokes my dad told so many times when I was a boy I will never forget it. I believe this is what it means for us to impress these commandments on our hearts, and on our children.

If we’re not daily thinking about loving God with all of who we are, each day, from time to time throughout the day, we’re not cutting it. We’re not doing it. We’re falling short.

So, In Deuteronomy 6 we have the Shema… and it starts with Hear O Israel. That’s like Moses yelling out “Timothy Charles!” It gets my attention, and I know I need to stop what I’m doing and listen up. When I hear it, I know something’s up. I’m either in big big trouble or what’s about to be told to me is really important.

Hear O Israel! Listen up! Here’s what you’ve got to do, Love the Lord your God with all that you are. In everything you do, in your waking up and lying down, love him. Talk about him. Think about him, share about him. Pokemon… ya, he’s nothing. It’s God.You know what? Hey guess what? Hey church can I tell you something? It’s all about love.I think it’s really interesting that out of all the texts Jesus could have quoted to the teachers of the Law he picked out one whose focus is not on piety, or separation, or position - but on love. I think it’s really interesting as over the years I’ve grown to desire to follow Christ. And as we desire to be Christ followers and live as he lived and value what he valued… we can help but be caught in Love.

So, we have two references today don’t we. We have the Old Testament Deuteronomy text alongside the New Testament Mark text. Both speak to God’s Oneness. Both call us to love God with all we are. The seemingly only difference is Jesus calls us to step out even further by broadening our understanding of what it means to love God – by also loving our neighbor.

I think love is foundational to our Christian faith. I believe it carries the weight of the commandments and rules. Without love we are only a resounding gong. We are annoying, bible thumping bull horn guys across the street from Dick’s at 1 in the morning.

We are known as followers of Christ by our love; our love of God and our love for neighbor. Each day we are blessed with the opportunity to feely choose. We can choose to Love God. We can choose to focus our attention on him. We can choose to focus our resources towards him. We can choose to love one another.

Social Justice is a hot topic right now. Helping the poor, serving the under privileged. All denominations across the board are looking at it, discussing it, and participating in it. But what is it, if it has not love?

Paul says: If we have faith that can move mountains but don’t have love – we are nothing. If we give everything we have to the poor, but don’t have love – we gain nothing.

We must have faith. We must give to the poor. We must support the homeless, the downtrodden, the disenfranchised. It’s who we are, it’s in our DNA, it’s how we were made. We must love. We are commanded to love.

Hear, O Church: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. [a] 5 Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. 6 These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. 7 Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home, when you walk around your neighborhood and when you drive along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. 8 Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. 9 Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.

"The most important commandment is this: 'Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.' The second is this: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no commandment greater than these."

Jesus demonstrated the truth of these words as he broke bread and shared the cup. And so it is that we today will also remember Christ’s love for us as we share at his open table – a table designed and poured out in love.

About Me

I’m a husband, father, and friend. At the core of who I am, I love being active; whether it’s riding my scooter, flying kites, or playing at the beach. I believe we must be active - even in our faith! I have a heart for sharing the Good News of Jesus Christ and inspiring others to do the same. I find joy looking at life from different angles with the freedom to redevelop old and create new space, where the kingdom of God is displayed.